13 December 1988: The Brazzaville Protocol was signed by #Angola, #SouthAfrica and #Cuba agreeing on independence for #Namibia to begin 1 April 1989 and phased withdrawal of Cuban forces over 27 months

11 December 1978: ZANLA guerrillas raided the fuel depot outside Salisbury, firing rockets that set fire to fuel containers and starting a blaze that would burn for eight days and consume months of #Rhodesia valuable oil reserves

4 December 1976: President Jean-Bedel Bokassa announced that henceforth the #CentralAfricanRepublic would be known as the Central African Empire and his 'coronation' as emperor would take place in a year

3 December 1985- "The day is not far when we shall lead you to freedom": Winne Mandela spoke at at rally and vowed vengence for those killed in clashes with Police in the black township of Mamelodi outside Pretoria #SouthAfrica

2 December 1977: The @AP released @PulitzerPrizes winning photos taken by one of its photographers who accompanied a #Rhodesia army unit on a patrol who said he saw soldiers "Loot, burn down huts and beat a politician and torture his wife and daughter"

Everyday People

History seldom remembers the everyday people, and features the rich and famous instead. This is sad because often the best stories and the most interesting of lives are played out by the everyday people.

You and I and our forefathers and ancestors are the people who shaped the planet. We built the railways, nursed the sick and poured the tea for people who could only dream their dreams and see their visions of what the world might one day become. Yes, it is the everyday people who often faced the most danger and overcame or lost their lives in ways that often far more up close and personal than the sheltered few who poems are written about.

The big guys cannot do anything unless the everyday people allow them to. These are our stories.